The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1887-02-15
NEW FINDS AT POMPEII.
A Street of Tombs and their Inter.
eSting Contents.

revealed the existence OF the ancient CITY
Of Herculaneum beneath the modern
towns Of Resina and Portici. The same
operation on the part of the owner of a
vineyard situated some distance to the
east Of the amphitheatre of Pompeii led
to the discovery, about six weeks ago, of
street Of tombs running in direct line
from Pompeii to Nocera. Taking ad-
vantage Of the visit OF an psychological
friend of mine, who had Just returned
from scientific tour to Pergamon, 1
yesterday accompanied him and Profess
for Saglano, director of the excava-
tons, to visit the newly discovered ruins.
The little space at present dug out has
| brought to light, deep below The surface
OF the ground, a tolerably wide and well
made ancient road, of q kind of maca-
dam construction, slightly arched in the
center so as TO allow the rain water to
run off, and with low earthly bank on
either side, on the top of which are seven
| tOmbs recently excayated, four on one
side and three on the other. This road
runs nearly due east in the direction
| from Pompeii to Nocera, the portion now
eXcaVated lying about l,000 feet from
the Pompelian amphiteater, and it is
supposed that when it is all excavated
back to Pompeii city gate will be found
at its commencement. 1t is also net
improbable that near the city it will be
found to be paved with lava, like the
celebrated street of Tombs on the west
| side. Should the whole be found TO be
as closely lined with tombs as is the por-
tIOn ! will no IF la
| important discoveries lately made in this
part of the world. Unfortunately money
is wanting and the excavation is going
Oh but slowly. The ancient level of the
street being here very low, the road is
hFst covered to the depth OF ten or fif-
teen feet with pumice stones eacted
from Vesuvius during the great erup-
ton of 1872. Then comes thin layer
OF ashes; then again stratum of pun
ice about ten inches thick, another thin
line OF ashes, anu over alf earth several
feet deep. Just below this upper earth
were found several large statues. which
had evidently surmounted the tombs be-
meath. On the road itself can be seen
the slight depTessions of ruts caused by
the wheels of passing vehicles. The
tombS are erected in straight line
either side, and where one is set rat
back 1t has low stone balustrade, Whlt
keeps the line and extends beyond the
tomb, probably enclosing a space pur-
chased for subsequent tombs, and then
the next tomb is again built forward on
the original line. Thus this little por-
ton of excaVated street has a neat and
symmetrical appearance. The four best
preserved tombs lie on the north side Of
the road, and are pretty much of the
60 T1Op CII = I,
ferent arrangement of architecture.
They are separated from each other by
about foot and half; they are all
built of alternate layers of brick and
lime, and covered with stucco, while
some of the pillars and pilasters are CT
tuttstone, with Corinthian or Ionic CAPT
tails. Some of the tombs have vault
beneath, and all are DIVIDED with inches
for the reception of the cinerary urns.
They very much remind one of the lit
tie chapels in modern Catholic ceme-
terry, such as the Naples Campo Santo.
The first tomb excavated, being the one
nearest to Pompeii on the north side of
the road, is covered with rude inscrip-
tons painted in red, one of which is
notable; 1t is an advertisement apprising
the passers-by that runaway horse
has been found of such size and color,
and that the owner may have it BY ap-
plying to smith from Nocera, at the
bridge over the Sarno, toward Stabin.
In TACT, such inscriptions are found on
all the tombs which have evidently
served as a public newspaper on the |
thlckly trequented road. There are be- |
sides many graphites. One person has
scratched his name with the word Gre
member" beneath. In one the letter V
is very interesting, from the fact that IT
is morked with dot in the fork of the !
V, which Is a "reminiscences of the Osnan |
character. causing the v to be pro-
nounced more like o. Nearly all the |
rudely traced inscriptions (Which of |
course have nothing to do with the true |
inscriptions on marble slabs that denote |
the name and qualities of the deceased) |
relate to Nocera, showing the influence |
OF that neighbOring town on Pompeii
One of the marble inscriptions gives toll
NoCera the surname of CONSTANT. in re
Iation TO its faithfulness-a surname 7 |
believe, seen here in this connection for
the first time. One of the tombs had
been surmOunted on its ur corners |
with stone pineapples interesting as
suggestive of this style of decoration as
noticed In the immense single pineapple.
said to have crowned HaGrian's tomb
In Rome. It is curious that in the
inches of one of the tombs stands two
small headstones instead of urns.
The statues, cinerary urns, loose mar
bic tablets, skulls and bones have been
deposited in the room of a country cot
tage hard by, all except one statue,
which lies prone on the ground near the
excavation, and serves, by string
passed round its neck, to hold fast the
end of ragged canvas stretched on a
small tree as a shelter from the sun-a
mental Office to which, no doubt, the
man who was of sufficient consideration
TO have statue never dreamed that his
etfigy would be degraded. The full
length statues are all portraits, and evil
IDENTIFY very good ones, for each of the
faces is highly characteristic. One
elderly male figure has fine head and
the mouth of an orator; another is a
handsome young man of Grecian type;
one is dignifed old woman, grave with
years and honors, with deep lines at the
corners of the very peculiar and firmly
pressed lips, and STYLE of dressing the
hair which reminds one of the statues
Of Livla. Then there are, besides, a
middle aged and young woman, of
countenances, the latter with
small, rather pointed and piuched feat
1res. On the hair of one of the male